Cooper Flagg Reflects on Day 1 of Summer League Practice | Dallas Mavericks Interview

Cooper Flagg Reflects on Day 1 of Summer League Practice | Dallas Mavericks Interview

as a kick or you looking for a comfort guy in the left wing. Yeah. Uh first um I just want to say that you know my thoughts and prayers um are are with the families that were affected in the situation this past weekend out here. So just want to say that. But you know my expectations um I’m excited you know I’m excited to you know I’ve been in the gym with the guys got to know a bunch of them. So I’m excited to just get out there um get back on the court you know play five. Any particular goals that you have? Uh, I wouldn’t, you know, say specific goals, but I just want to go out, um, you know, show I’ve improved, should I’ve gotten better, and, um, you know, have have a couple of games. What’s that process like for you when you’re getting with a group of guys that you’ve never played with, and you’re all trying to build the chemistry? Yeah, I mean, it’s tough. It’s It’s always tough, you know, getting in a new setting, a new team. You know, all these guys are going through this whole process. You know, some guys have done it for a couple years, some guys it’s the first first time like me. So, you know, um, it’s hard. You know, that’s never easy, but you know, I think we got a great group of guys and, you know, a lot of good players, so it should make it a little easier. Cooper, from your opening press conference the other day and Jason Kid sitting next to you, he’s emphasizing he wants you to handle the rock a lot and play some point guard. How does that make you feel? And is that something you’re looking forward to? Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. I mean, I think, you know, Coach Sh trusted me a lot last year and I I handled it a lot. You know, I didn’t bring it up with some, but you know, in the half court, I handled it a lot and, you know, set up a lot of different actions. So, um, I think it’s something I can do at a high level. So, I’m excited to just, you know, experiment and do some new things. You and Ryan are, you know, a few of the many Mont Beard guys on the Mavericks now. Um, I think you guys over overlapped or anything, but do you have any familiarity? Did you know him before this or anything? I didn’t know him. No, he was gone before I got there, but um, know something that we’ve been able to talk about and connect on and, you know, Ryan’s a great player. Um, incredible passer. Um, can really score it as well. I don’t know if people realize that. So, um, I’m excited to, you know, get on the court with him. Now that you’ve had some time to actually experience Dallas, what are your initial impressions of the city? Yeah, I mean it’s beautiful. I’m excited. You know, it’s an incredible place to live, um, to be. So, I’m excited to, you know, continue to explore Dallas and excel in. Back to your intro presser. Um, you know, you said that you’re excited to try new things at the summer league. When Jason Kit was talking about you, you know, he looks at failure as an opportunity to learn. So, just with the pressure of, you know, being drafted number one overall, how much is it that you have support from your head coach that you can try new things and there’s some space there? Yeah, I think it it gives me a lot of confidence obviously, you know, having that um kind of message and confidence from him just knowing that he’s going to trust me to, you know, try some new things and, you know, we’ve talked about him just telling me that, you know, it’s going to you’re going to go through some failure, but um um he’s not worried about, you know, mistakes or little things like that. So, just, you know, pushing through um exploring new things, um trying to get on my shell and do do different things in the court. I think I’m excited to just kind of try your entire sales for you first. You said what? What stood out the most? What stood out the most? I think just a great group of guys, you know, to have as teammates for summer league. Um, I think a lot of teams can get caught and just learning about themselves and, you know, playing ISO, different stuff. But I think we got a great group of guys that, um, you know, really just want to play the right way and and showcase a good, you know, brand of basketball. Was this just another one of the thousands of practices you’ve had or was there some a different feel to it being in your first sort of NBA practice? Um, it was a little bit of a different feeling. You know, it’s similar when I got to Duke and had my first practice there. you know, it’s just um new environment, new feeling, um being around new people, you know, making those new connections. So, it’s definitely a little bit of a different feeling, but at the end of the day, it is basketball, so it is, you know, another practice. Through your whole draft process and in this whole thing coming to Dallas, was there anybody that reached out or sent love or support to you that you were surprised by or kind of like shocked by? uh not not really directly but um you know I felt a lot of support from a lot of different people so I’m just grateful for for

League practice, sharing his goals, first impressions of Dallas, and how he’s adjusting to NBA-level play. Flagg discusses Jason Kidd’s vision for him as a ball handler, building chemistry with teammates, and how he’s embracing new challenges in his rookie summer.

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